Update: OTA ATSC 3.0 NextGen 4K TV broadcasting is here
The latest info: NextGen TV is now on the air in many markets across the country with dozens more gearing up to launch the service in the coming year. To see where NextGen TV broadcasts are available, visit the ATSC 3.0 Deployments webpage. Also, check out the official NextGen TV website for info about where you can watch ATSC 3.0 broadcasts now and the upcoming TV markets for 2021. You will also find ATSC 3.0 features and which manufacturers are offering TVs with integrated NEXTGEN TV tuners, which include LG, Samsung and Sony.
In January of 2020, the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) announced that the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) had adopted ATSC 3.0 as a recommended digital broadcast standard. This meant that in the very near future, over-the-air television broadcast programming would be available using the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard also known as NextGen.
Here in the U.S., several TV stations have already started test broadcasts, and stations in the 40 largest TV markets in the U.S. have committed to broadcasting NextGenTV by the end of 2020. So expect to see TV manufacturers begin making announcements for the release of ATSC 3.0 tuners in their upcoming 2020 models. And speaking of ATSC/NextGen TV tuners, Samsung Electronics recently announced that its upcoming 2020 QLED 8K television lineup will offer ATSC 3.0 tuners which will provide consumers with higher image resolution, more realistic audio, and interactive experiences, designed to usher in a new era of over-the-air transmission TV broadcasting.
ATSC 3.0 will eventually replace ATSC 1.0 which is the current broadcast standard that allows viewers to receive OTA broadcasts. Once ATSC 3.0 is up and running, ATSC 1.0 will still be available for another five years, whereafter it will be phased out.
NextGen TV will have the capability to broadcast high-quality Ultra HD 4K video, HDR and wide color gamut, high frame rates up to 120Hz, as well as having better indoor reception. Additionally, the NextGen standard will allow for multi-channel object-based audio and dialogue enhancement features that will give users a more immersive sound experience in addition to supporting traditional surround sound formats – all of these new features will be free – you’ll just need an antenna and a TV or separate tuner that can decode the ATSC 3.0/NextGen OTA signal.
As a side note: one potential downside of the new ATSC 3.0 standard will let broadcasters track your viewing habits, this information can be used for targeted advertising, just like companies such as Facebook and Google use today.
Stay tuned and check back regularly for more info. In the meantime, check out the informative video below for more info on the ATSC 3.0/Next Generation broadcast standard…